CFL doubleheader: Bombers at Ticats, Lions at Eskimos

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ defense made a statement with 11 sacks in two games against the Montreal Alouettes to start the season. Winnipeg will try to apply the same pressure to quarterback Henry Burris and the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday in Guelph, Ont. The Blue Bombers will be the second team to visit Hamilton at its temporary home - the Tiger-Cats lost to the Edmonton Eskimos in heavy rain in Week 2 and are the only team without a win.

Burris, who ranks third in the CFL in passing yards with 595, believes his offense has to get better, but the problem with Hamilton is defense. The Tiger-Cats allowed a league-high 69 points through two games and look especially vulnerable against the run after surrendering 298 total rushing yards. Winnipeg running back Chad Simpson, limited to 90 yards, will look to exploit the same holes Edmonton and the Toronto Argonauts found in Hamilton’s porous secondary.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, TSNABOUT THE BLUE BOMBERS (1-1): Defensive tackles Bryant Turner and Zach Anderson and defensive ends Kenny Mainor and Alex Hall combined for nine of the 11 sacks against Montreal, forming the core of Winnipeg’s intimidating defensive line. Veteran quarterback Buck Pierce has struggled to start the season, completing 38-of-65 passes and throwing four interceptions. Pierce’s favorite target has been slot back Cory Watson, who is on pace to surpass his 2011 career-high 793 receiving yards with 143 in two games.ABOUT THE TIGER-CATS (0-2): Burris connected with wide receiver Andy Fantuz for 155 yards and one touchdown in the season opener, but Fantuz missed Week 2 with an injury and was not at practice Tuesday. To help bolster their depleted offense, the Tiger-Cats called up wide receiver Glenn MacKay, who is from nearby Burlington, Ont., and resides in Hamilton. MacKay made 18 receptions for 196 yards with the Tiger-Cats in 2011 but has never scored a touchdown during stints for three different CFL teams.TRENDS:

* Blue Bombers are 4-1 ATS in their last five meetings.* Under is 5-0 in the last five meetings in Hamilton.* Blue Bombers are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 July games.

After dropping its season opener to the Calgary Stampeders, the BC Lions return to Alberta with a home victory under their belts and a winning record in their sights when they visit the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday. Led by running back Andrew Harris, who recorded 152 combined yards, BC handled the Toronto Argonauts in Week 2, shutting down Toronto’s run game one week after surrendering 172 rushing yards to Calgary running back Jon Cornish.

Edmonton is returning home where it lost to the Saskatchewan Roughriders 39-18 to open the season. Quarterback Mike Reilly looked much better in Week 2, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another in a road victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Reilly and running back Hugh Charles combined for 173 rushing yards, a trend that will need to continue in order to open up defenses for Reilly’s developing passing game.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, TSNABOUT THE LIONS (1-1): BC’s defense will be without linebacker Adam Bighill for at least two weeks after he suffered an ankle injury against Toronto. Bighill, who led the team with 104 tackles last year, will be replaced by veteran linebacker Anton McKenzie. With slot back Shawn Gore also expected to miss time because of a head injury, quarterback Travis Lulay will lean heavily on slot back Nick Moore (162 receiving yards) and wide receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux (153). Two games into his first CFL season, cornerback Cord Parks leads BC with 10 tackles and one interception.ABOUT THE ESKIMOS (1-1): Reilly’s favorite target is veteran slot back Fred Stamps, who has 150 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Stamps has 6,278 receiving yards in his seven-year CFL career - all with Edmonton. Linebacker JC Sherritt, who set a CFL record with 130 tackles last year, has a team-leading 15 tackles and one sack. Aside from Sherritt, the Eskimos’ defense has been questionable as four of their five sacks (and both interceptions) came against a Tiger-Cats team that struggled to control the ball in heavy rain.

TRENDS:

*Over is 4-0 in the Eskimos’ last four home games.* Lions are 1-6 ATS in their last seven road games.* Eskimos are 5-1 ATS in their last six Week 3 games.EXTRA POINTS

1. The Lions have won five of seven games against the Eskimos over the last two seasons.

1* Cleveland (1:00 ET): The chances for the Browns to avoid the infamy of 0-16 are rapidly dwindling. They are just four games left, but realistically there's probably only two shots where they have a legit chance to win, Dec 24th vs. San Diego and here. This week they are coming off a bye and hosting Cincinnati. I'll recommend to take the points.

It's not as if the Browns haven't been competitive. In fact, they actually outgained the Giants two weeks ago in a 27-13 loss. That game really swung on a defensive score by the G-Men. Despite what the final scores might indicate, they've been competitive in four of the last five games. That doesn't even include close losses to Baltimore, Miami and Tennessee earlier in the year. Robert Griffin III, out since Week 1, is expected to be back this week as the starting QB. Coming off a bye and still motivated to avoid NFL history ('08 Lions only 0-16 team in history), the Browns are a solid value this week. Consider that the "lookahead" line for this game was only +3.5.

The Bengals turned in one of their best performances of the year last week, routing Philadelphia 32-14. But it's "too little, too late" here as a 4-7-1 SU record is probably too big of a hole to climb out of. Even if they were to win out, I'm not sure the Bengals would get into the playoffs. The offense is without WR AJ Green and unlike LW, this is a road game. So far this year, the Bengals are 1-5 SU and 0-6 ATS away from home. After being darlings at the betting window LY, Cincy is just 3-8-1 ATS overall in 2016. With Browns HC Hue Jackson being the Bengals former OC, might there be a little sympathy on the sidelines? Not sure, but Cleveland is also due to erase an 0-4 SU/ATS slide in this AFC North rivalry. 1* Cleveland

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